Background Check
by OfCourseIAm
Summary: Will expresses concern about the alleged safety risks of Zoey going on a date, but perhaps it's not Zoey who should be worried.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story will have two chapters; the second chapter is already written and will be posted within the next week or two. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters/world of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.**

* * *

"I didn't realize there was an approval process for my dates."

Zoey had found Will in a conference room, working on something or other on his tablet. A map of Tabula Rasa was projected on the walls, with landmarks circled and labelled in red and a few other things marked in different colors. Zoey wasn't quite sure she even wanted to know what the map was for, but she figured it would probably turn up at some opportune moment in the future.

Will, however, had abandoned whatever he was doing with the map once she'd come in to tell him, just as an FYI, that she'd be out tonight on a date.

Will said, "There's a process for everything." He tapped several things quickly on his tablet. Zoey had no doubt that somehow in the last minute he'd managed to find out more about her date than even Zoey knew.

Zoey sighed. "We're just going to dinner. Can you save the background check for if I, I don't know, marry him?"

"Not really. It doesn't take a wedding to pull a gun."

"Oh my god, he's not here to kill me. He went to my high school-"

"I know."

Zoey glared at him. "-and called me up since he's moving to Tabula Rasa."

"A wise move if you're planning to kill a wealthy heiress that crushed on you in high school."

"How the hell did you know that?"

"More people knew than you thought. Did you know he shoplifted chewing gum from a convenience store two years ago?"

"Ooooh, sounds so dangerous. Can you not? He's not suspected of murder, so he's already got most of the people in this house beat."

"No one in this house has a criminal record."

"Yeah, cuz you pay off the police." Zoey took a deep breath and tried to wrangle down her annoyance at Will. If she stood here arguing with him over all the reasons Will should theoretically be in prison, she wouldn't be ready in time for Mike's arrival. "I'm going to go get dressed for my date, you have fun down here doing your psycho-paranoid background check." She turned and went to leave the conference room.

"You said it's at seven tonight?"

"Yup." Zoey's hand was on the doorknob.

Will said, "I'm afraid you'll have to postpone it then. I can get the others to join me, but I don't think I'll be able to sift through all his Blink highlights in that time."

Her jaw nearly dropped. Zoey spun around. "You're joking."

"No, I'd like to ensure he has no homicidal tendencies before you meet with him." Will held her eyes, looking completely serious.

Zoey crossed her arms. "I was informing you that I was gonna be out tonight as a courtesy, not as a request for permission."

Will said, "That's all right, you don't need my permission. I'll call in some of the private security force, I think six should be enough for the night."

Zoey said, "I'm not taking six armed guards on a date. Can't I just take Wu?"

"Sure, once I've finished the background check. Tomorrow at seven should work fine." Will returned to his tablet, tapping something else.

"I hate you."

Will's eyes flickered up towards her, then returned to his screen. "I know. But unless it's in a secure location, I don't want you meeting with an unknown person without sufficient protection."

Zoey thought for a moment. The last thing she wanted was for Mike to think she was a weirdo with six guards following her around all the time. Granted, he already knew she was rich and important.

Then his last sentence sunk in, and Zoey smiled. "What about here? I could have Carlton make us dinner, and it's a secure location, right?"

Will looked up from his tablet, brow furrowed. "I don't know, Zoey… this is a secure location, but he could take us by surprise, or be exposed to sensitive materials."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "You can have your armed security force in the next room, if that makes you happy. And I'll keep him away from all the super secret stuff."

Will leaned back in his chair and took a long sip of his drink, like that was going to help him assess the danger of the situation. "I suppose," he said after a few moments, "that would be sufficient."

"Great." Thank god, her date was saved. Zoey turned towards the door, and paused. "Though do me a favor, okay, and try not to interrupt with anything showing how crazy my life is?"

Will said, "Sure," and Zoey skipped out the door to call Mike and tell him the change of plans.

Tonight would be great.

* * *

The armed guards were in the room adjoining the dining room, and Carlton had set the table glamorously. The red table cloth matched the deep red walls and mahogany floor, and gold highlights on the silverware glinted in tandem with the real gold accents on the ceiling. Zoey spun around in the evening dress she'd chosen for the occasion. It was one of Tre's, navy blue with a plunging neckline. It hugged all the right places, sticking to her body like another (more flattering) skin down to her knees, and then flaring out in a gorgeous circle of rich fabric. She also loved this dress because Will hated it- he always objected to her wearing it to important events and stared at her disapprovingly the whole night if she wore it anyway.

With that thought, Zoey flounced into the kitchen, where Carlton was buzzing around finishing up dinner, with chicken in the oven and soup simmering on the stove. Will sat at the counter with a glass of scotch and his ever-present tablet and phone.

Zoey asked, "You got everything set to settle your paranoia?"

Will said, "Well enough."

"Good, so you can stay hidden away from us while I have my date. Though it might be nicer here than a restaurant, actually. I got to tell Carlton exactly what to put on the menu." Which had been especially great after Mike had told her he had a deadly sesame allergy. Now _that_ could make for an awful date at a restaurant. Here, she had no fears that Carlton would mess something up.

"I'm glad you're satisfied." Will took a sip of scotch and looked at his phone.

Zoey said, "No, you're not." He'd probably prefer she stay and do work with him and the other Suits. "I'm wearing the dress you hate." She twirled around, and giggled at the feeling of the fabric around her ankles.

Will raised an eyebrow, his eyes flickering up and down her figure. "That's the dress I hate?"

Zoey nodded. "You always glare at me whenever I'm wearing it."

Will seemed to swallow whatever insult was undoubtedly rising to his lips, and looked back down at his phone. "It's fine. Enjoy your date."

Zoey rolled her eyes. Sometimes she thought she should add, 'talk to Zoey like a person every once in awhile' to Will's job description, but she figured he would use that time to lecture her. Their instances of real conversation had become more frequent anyway, just not when Will was working.

She swept back into the entrance room, and sat down to wait for Mike's arrival.

* * *

When Mike arrived, only fifteen minutes late, Zoey still thought it was going to be a great evening. She'd barely dared to hope he'd wear an actual suit and tie, but he had. It wasn't tailored, of course, so it didn't fit as well as Will's did, but he still looked absolutely amazing. He still had that sharp jawline she'd been so enamored with in high school, and pale blue eyes and blond hair that seemed like copies of the models Zoey admired in ads on the Tabula Rasa skyline. It looked like he'd kept up his physique since high school too; she couldn't _completely_ see his abs through his shirt, but he sure wasn't flabby.

Mike's eyes lit up when he saw her. "You look beautiful," he said, and Zoey could have fainted. So many times in high school, she'd dreamed of him saying stuff like that to her. So many times. Sure, riches couldn't buy love, but they sure made it easier to get the attention of super hot guys.

They sat in the parlor for the first twenty minutes, with a plate of fine cheeses that Carlton had prepared. Mike was pretty boring, but he laughed at all of Zoey's jokes and she did her best to believe that it really was because he thought she was funny.

When Carlton announced dinner was ready, Zoey decided it was time to ensure those abs really were there, and gracefully tripped onto Mike, steadying herself with a hand on his stomach when he caught her. Yep, great abs. She was grateful now that the Casa had some lovely beds they could retire to after dinner.

As they commenced the salad course, Mike told her all about coaching kids in football. "The kids are great, really great," he said. "But it just gets a little old after a while. Oh, but there was this one time…" and he began a long story about a boy who had broken his thumb in a car accident, gotten cancer, and messed up a throw… or something. Maybe there was more than one story and she'd missed the transition. Zoey attempted to seem interested, but her mind kept straying to the plans she and Will had been making yesterday for the new tech company in California.

Carlton brought the soup out, and took away their salads. Mike took a sip of soup. "This is great," he said. "So yeah, I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do here yet. I wanted to try something new. Don't suppose you have any job openings?" He winked.

Zoey tried to smile. Sure, she'd known he was here because she was rich, but she'd like to think he'd wait till the second date to make that much clear.

But she didn't have to answer, because then she heard gunshots. Mike's eyes widened. "What-"

The side door slammed open, and the armed guards filed into the room, guns out. Piatek, who Zoey remembered Kowalski describing as "really quite the killer, but weirdly polite- I think you'd get along" when suggesting him to Will, seemed to be in charge. He aimed at Mike.

"No!" Zoey yelled. "He doesn't even have a gun."

"Do you know the source of the shots, Ms. Ashe?"

"No, no, but it's not him, I'm sure everything's fine. Here, I'll call Will." She took out her phone and called him. The phone rang out, and Zoey tried again. It rang out. Crap, where was Will and why wouldn't he answer his phone?

Her mind immediately supplied all the reasons Will wouldn't answer his phone, including having forgotten to charge it (unlikely given how much he relied on it) and being brutally torn in half by a superhuman monster (more likely, but wouldn't they come for her first?).

Piatek commanded, "Units 1 and 2, spread out, search the house," and six guards hurtled towards the door of the dining room, leaving at least ten with them.

More shots rang out, and Zoey cringed. "Sounds like they're below us."

Piatek nodded solemnly. "You should stay here until we have an all-clear."

"I'm really sorry about this," Zoey said to Mike. "I swear, this doesn't normally happen- well, not with any regularity at least."

Mike's face was red and sweating. He wiggled a finger underneath his collar, loosening it. "You had guards in the other room?"

"The chairmen of my company are paranoid."

"The chairmen…?" Mike stared at her, then shook his head. "Sorry, I just don't feel very well."

Zoey said, "Don't worry, it'll all be okay. Everyone's ready for shit like this to happen." The lights went out, and suddenly they were solely lit by candlelight and the lights on the rifles. "Crap. Really, whatever this is, we've had worse."

Mike did not look any less worried.

Zoey tried to call Will again. This time, the voice on the other end told her the person she was trying to call was busy. So at least he probably wasn't dead, or someone else had his phone. She called Echo. No answer. Andre. No answer. Budd. No answer.

This wasn't looking good.

She heard the guards' radios start growling something, and she leaned towards them, trying to hear. Piatek shook his head. "Everything's fine," he said. "Just some testing downstairs gone wrong. Mr. Blackwater is on his way upstairs to explain the situation." The lights flooded on, and all the guards switched their rifle lights off. Piatek led the guards back into the side door, and closed it firmly behind him.

Mike looked even worse than before, if that was even possible. His breathing was faster and shallower, like he was having trouble getting enough air in, and he looked vaguely confused... that part was understandable at least.

Zoey said, "I'm really sorry about this. I don't know what they were thinking, doing… whatever they were doing down there."

"It's…" Mike gasped, "...fine. I… understand…"

"I know this place can be a bit weird, but this is abnormally weird. Really. But everything in Tabula Rasa is pretty weird compared to home. You'll see."

Mike gazed at her and scratched at his arms.

Zoey frowned. "Are you alright? Everything's fine, seriously. I dunno what those morons were doing, but they'll come explain in a minute."

Mike kept gasping for air, his face a deep red. Zoey started to reach for her phone. Maybe she should call the medical staff. Mike's condition was seeming less and less like a response to a stressful situation.

But then Will stepped into the room, and goddamnit, Mike would be fine. Will was the one who'd better have a good explanation, for his own good.

Zoey said, "What the hell was that?"

Will gave Mike a strange look, then turned to Zoey. "Sorry about that. We decided to test a couple new weapons, but they were louder than anticipated, and required us to leave our phones in another room to prevent radio interference with the weapons."

"And why did you do that now?"

Will said, "Well, normally we have to worry that you'll get yourself into some sort of trouble and need to call us. You were to be amused for some time, so it seemed ideal."

"After all your security concerns, you remove yourself from availability?" Zoey stood up, glaring at him. "What good is it being here if you couldn't even help if I had an emergency?"

"You did have eighteen armed guards in the room next to you. I think your date is about to pass out."

Zoey spun around. "What...?"

Mike collapsed out of his chair. Zoey ran to him. "What- wait- Will, what do we do?"

"I'm calling the medical staff. They'll be here in less than five minutes." Will knelt beside her, set his phone on the ground, and pulled a small little yellow box from his coat pocket. One of the nurses popped up holographically on his phone. "Someone's going into anaphylactic shock in the red dining room," Will said, and uncapped the yellow box to show two scary looking prongs. He jabbed it into Mike's leg. "I just administered epinephrine."

"We'll be there in two minutes," the nurse said. Her hologram vanished.

Zoey gaped at him as they waited for the medical staff. "You had epin-something-or-other in your pocket?"

"I like to be prepared for likely emergencies."

"How is this likely?"

Will stared at the body in silence, and Zoey was left to gape at her date's unconscious body while wondering how on earth she'd managed to make a date go this badly.

* * *

The next day, Carlton attempted to resign. "I don't know how sesame got into the soup," he cried. Zoey tried to convince him to stay, and that she was sure that it wasn't his fault. In the end, Will pulled out Carlton's contract and reminded him that his contractual time wasn't up. Then he pulled Carlton into another room to talk to him alone, and Carlton kept giving Will angry looks for the rest of the day.

Zoey apologized profusely to Mike, who got out of the hospital by morning (after he'd been stabilized, they transferred him from the medical staff at Casa De Zoey to an actual hospital staff). He told her not to worry about it, with a soft little smile, and Zoey tried to explain more about the gunshots. He got a weird look on his face and said he understood that her life was strange, and told her he'd be in touch in that way people say it when they have no intention of getting in touch.

Zoey didn't blame him.

When she arrived home from meeting with Mike, she found Will in a conference room doing something on his tablet. The same map of Tabula Rasa was projected on the walls, just this time with different markings surrounding the landmarks.

She sat down in her favorite chair in this room, a red one that squished down when she sat on it and had big armrests that made her feel like a queen. "I don't think you'll have to finish that background check," she said.

Will didn't look up. "He didn't want a second date?"

"I think the combo of nearly dying and strange gunshots freaked him out."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The map on the walls zoomed in to the area around the headquarters of the Co-Op, and Will gazed at it thoughtfully for a moment. He zoomed back out and noted something on his tablet.

"You're so not sorry." Zoey sighed. "I know, I probably shouldn't try to date normal people. Weirdos it is for me. I'll stick to people who are used to hearing gunshots and nearly dying."

She saw a ghost of a smile on Will's face as he noted something else on his tablet, but he said nothing. He looked a little too pleased, Zoey thought. They sat in silence for a few moments while thoughts slowly turned over in her head.

Zoey asked, "What were you doing in the kitchen last night? Right before Mike arrived?"

Will squinted at something on his screen. "Drinking and working."

"Yeah, your two addictions. But why in the kitchen?"

"Quicker for refills. I figured Carlton would be busy setting up for your date."

Zoey drummed her fingers on the table. "Sooo you were in the kitchen to drink more, and then went straight downstairs to fire unknown weapons."

"Typical night."

Zoey couldn't help but laugh. If only that wasn't so true, her life would be simpler. "So, how do you think sesame seeds got into the soup?"

"I believe Carlton."

"Duh, he'd never forget what he put in a recipe. But how'd they get there then?"

Will shrugged. "Accidents happen."

Zoey paused for a moment. Her next sentence needed to sound as casual as possible, even if there was nothing casual about it. "When you got someone to kill Jezza, it looked like suicide." She watched Will carefully.

He didn't take his eyes off his screen, continuing to scroll down whatever he was reading while he spoke with her. "Correct."

Zoey said, "Seems weirdly similar. My mom's old boyfriend is murdered in prison, looks like a suicide. My date nearly dies of anaphylactic shock, looks like an accident."

Will gave her an annoyed look. "Are you implying that I purposefully poisoned your date?"

"Tell me you didn't. Promise me you didn't cause this, and I'll believe you."

"I didn't poison the food." Will's eyes returned to his tablet, a bit too fast.

Zoey scooted her chair towards him. God, she loved that this chair rolled around too. Maybe she should have it moved to the Mold Room instead of this random-ass conference room. "Nuh-uh, that wasn't the question." She waved her fingers in front of his face until Will's annoyed look returned to her. "Repeat after me: 'I promise that I did not purposefully cause Zoey's date to go into anaphylactic shock.'"

His face froze, and suddenly it didn't look so annoyed anymore. No, now his eyes had slid away from her face, his brow creased in thought unwarranted by a request to repeat a single sentence. Silence stretched between them.

"WHAT THE HELL, WILL?"

His voice was smaller than she'd ever heard it. "I had epinephrine on hand."

"Yeah, while you were out of phone contact downstairs shooting at things! Why would you do that? Why? And don't you dare lie to me right now, I will fire your ass."

Will said nothing.

Zoey groaned. "Damn it, Will, I think I deserve an explanation. Please tell me it's something good. Did you find out he killed someone? Did he accept a contract on my life?"

Will said, "No. Nothing so well justified." He stood.

Zoey shook her head. "No, no, you are not leaving this room until you give me a decent explanation for this."

She grabbed at his arm, but Will took a step back from her. "I decline to answer."

"Well, I decline your declination to answer. So there. Answer or you're fired." Zoey grinned triumphantly. As pissed as she was at Will, this was still kind of fun. She should probably be more pissed, actually. He had tried to kill her date, nevermind that she hadn't expected more than a couple sexy nights with Mike.

"You've fired me before. I'm sure I'll reclaim my position soon enough."

" _Or_ ," Zoey said, "Rather than firing you, I'll make you Casa De Zoey's trash collector for a week. You'll have to clear out all the trash in the Casa. Including and especially anywhere where Andre has sex with my mom, so you have to handle his used condoms."

Will opened his mouth, a peculiar expression on his face, then closed it. He kept staring away at the wall, as if the map of Tabula Rasa would tell him how to negotiate out of this conversation.

Zoey said, "Of course, you could just sit your butt down and tell me what possessed you to try to kill my date."

Will said, "If I was trying to kill him, I would have succeeded, not administered the necessary dose of epinephrine to save his life."

"So you were trying to… what? Just tell me, I'm only going to get more creative the longer you put it off."

Will took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair, staring at his tablet. His hands squeezed his knees tightly. "Ruin your date. I wanted to ensure he didn't return to your company in the near future."

That explained the shooting downstairs. And… now that she thought about it, it explained his resistance to her having the date anywhere other than Casa De Zoey. "Because… why?"

"Personal reasons."

"What the- you're way past the point of 'personal reasons', Will Blackwater, you better start fessing up."

Will said through gritted teeth, "Let me decline to answer, Zoey."

"Nope. You must have had twisted rationale for this. Is there a nasty demon inside you we need to exorcise?"

"What? No. But it's-" Will seemed to swallow more words. "I'd rather keep my dignity."

"Was it to hide a murder or a betrayal of Livingston Enterprises?"

"No."

"Then it can't be that bad. You're not leaving this room until you tell me, you know. You owe me that, at least, for the horrid night that was my date."

"Please, Zoey."

"Fess up."

Will sighed and covered his face in his hands. Zoey felt the anticipation build inside her. It was coming. She was about to learn whatever had caused Will Blackwater to decide that ruining her date by shooting things underneath them and slipping an allergen in the soup was a good idea.

Will said, "Somehow, I seem to have developed some sort of… feelings for you."

Her stomach dropped. He couldn't mean… no, he'd just said 'feelings.' Of course Will had feelings about her, they'd worked together for a while now. Zoey said, "What, like annoyance? I'm pretty sure that's been developed since the first time your little hologram appeared on my phone."

Will said, "No. Other feelings. Though you are annoying." He was still talking through his hands with his eyes covered.

He couldn't mean that he liked her, right? They spent half their time working together at each other's throats, and she'd spoiled his plans countless times. He couldn't mean romantic feelings, and if she asked, he'd probably just laugh at the idea. "So… what feelings?"

"Don't make me say it, Zoey."

"You're gonna have to say it."

"Zoey."

"Nope, vocalize your feelings, Will."

Will sounded as if he was in agony. "I've begun to… like you… in a romantic sense."

Zoey's eyes widened.

Will continued, "I find you attractive and enjoy your company, so I've read that this development is… natural. It will run its course and fade. If, in the meantime, you would like to reassign me to endeavors that do not directly involve you, that is more than acceptable to me. Even preferable, perhaps."

Zoey didn't say anything. Since when had Will, of all people, been at all interested in her? She'd thought that he was disgusted by her, if he noticed her as a female sexual being at all. This didn't fit. This didn't fit with anything that had been going on in her life for the past couple months.

Will's head raised, and she felt him looking at her. She kept staring at the wall.

Will said, "You can also fire me, if reassignment is insufficient."

That jolted Zoey out of her thoughts. "No, no, I'm not firing you. Do you- um- do you want to be reassigned? I don't care, I'm fine with whatever, but like you said preferable, so- but I don't really know what to assign-"

Will said, "You're rambling. I can assign myself to tasks that don't involve you. You'll just interact with the others a bit more than usual."

"Right." Zoey took a deep breath. "You don't have to, though, if you don't want-"

Will said, "No, I'd like some distance."

"Okay. We should talk about-"

"We don't need to discuss this ever again." Will stood up and grabbed his tablet from the table. The wall map vanished, and Will tightened the knot of his tie. "When I start working with you again, you'll know everything's back to normal. Unless there's a disaster, of course."

Zoey said, "Okay," and thought about what else to say. Surely there was more, something else she should ask or tell him so he knew that it was okay, she didn't hate him or anything…

Will walked out the door and pulled it closed behind him without another word Zoey was left alone in the conference room, wondering why her whole body felt frozen in uncertain agony.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry this is out a bit later than intended, but I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits**

* * *

When Zoey had stumbled into this bedroom last night, she hadn't paid any mind to decor other than that there was a bed. Fortunately, however, she'd accidentally chosen well. The covers of this bed were strangely soft, and above her, ebony posts held a navy blue canopy with silver swirls running through it. The silver glinted when she moved her head back and forth, so Zoey spent a few minutes doing that when she woke up. The room otherwise was one of the smaller guest rooms in Casa De Zoey, with tapestry walls stylishly matching the canopy of the bed and ebony furniture. Zoey'd often admired the windows too, which reached from the floor all the way to the ceiling with fancy matching drapes. But now the curtains were drawn, the lights off, and the full effect of the room was lost in the darkness.

Not that Zoey really cared right now. She stared up at the silver strands of the canopy and tried desperately to make sense of the world in which yesterday Will had told her that he had developed romantic feelings for her. Will Blackwater. The man whose father figure was her father. The man who had saved her life and a great deal of her money way too many times to count. The man who was feared by pretty much everyone in Tabula Rasa, for good reason. Who had arranged for Jezza to be killed. Who was fifteen years older than her. Whose wife had been ran over by a car. Who was basically a robot. Who had nearly killed her date in an attempt to scare him off. Talk about messed up.

Her phone beeped with a text at 11am, and Zoey's heart jumped in her chest. She lifted her phone to check the name.

Carlton. Asking if she wanted breakfast.

No, she did not. She wanted Will to text her, or come see her, or anything to make this situation better. Things always seemed a little less fucked up than they really were when Will was talking to her. Maybe that was his skill at negotiation, but she probably wouldn't have managed to get through even half of the whole thing with Molech without his bizarre little pep talks, if you could even call them that. She would've fled long before they finished that mess, and even if she got through that, she wouldn't have managed to get through all the incidents since then. Whenever she couldn't handle anything else, when she was wrecked with despair and horror, Will would somehow manage to get her back up and into the Mold Room. And even though she knew those conversations were often laced with manipulation and reverse psychology, she always felt a little better, a little stronger afterwards.

Now she thought about it, she hadn't truly had a breakdown in a while. Will had kept coming by to talk to her just as often, but about more enjoyable topics, with fewer business reasons and excuses. Though when they were working on business, he was his same old android self.

Old and android. He was fifteen years older than her, he'd already been married. The marriage was the only reason Zoey knew he had romance programmed in somewhere, even if she'd never seen it. Unless, of course, his wife had been a robot too.

Her phone beeped, and Zoey jerked again. It was now 1pm, Carlton was asking if she'd want lunch. She felt a twinge of guilt; she hadn't replied to his last message. She sent a quick text telling him she was fine and would be in bed most of today, and not to worry about feeding her until she texted him. Then she collapsed back onto her pillows.

A fifteen year age difference was supposed to be super important. Many people disapproved of such things, but then, Zoey never cared what everyone else approved of. The idea was normally that it was sexually perverted or that with such a large age difference, the couple wouldn't be able to relate to each other. But while the intrinsic differences between her and Will would never go away, in general she thought they understood each other pretty well, even if she then did the opposite of what she understood he wanted. And the sexual perversions she'd tried in the past had been quite pleasurable.

Zoey groaned. She was supposed to be readjusting her world after Will's confession, not justifying why them dating wouldn't be a horrible idea.

Then again, maybe they could be the same thing. After all, Will having feelings for her made sense if they would be a decent couple. That wouldn't be so disorienting.

Her phone beeped again, and once more her heart jumped. It would be Carlton again, she chided herself as she lifted the phone.

The text was from Will Blackwater. Zoey's breath hitched, and she hurriedly unlocked her phone to read the message.

 _Upon further consideration, I think the reconstruction option we discussed for the tech startup would be the most profitable. Unless you object, I'll implement that._

Cool and professional. She supposed she wouldn't have expected anything else, given his words when he'd left the room.

 _No objections_ , she texted back. Her heart raced. _Maybe we could discuss the implementation plan in person?_

Sent. Zoey took a deep breath. She needed to see him, even if it was just business. She needed to hear his voice, watch him pace the room and point at things and even lecture her, just so she could sort this out. Just so she could test their patterns of interactions, the playful banter that they had sometimes, the comfortable camaraderie and tension all at once… test all of that in a romantic context.

Her phone beeped in her hand, and Zoey unlocked it immediately.

 _No longer possible. Currently in California, meeting with company executives. Will email you implementation plan later tonight; reply with any objections by morning._

Her heart plummeted. Of course. Will couldn't just go work on other projects like a normal human being, he'd booked himself a plane ticket to another state to be away from her. Zoey tossed her phone onto the bed next to her. Well then. Either she had to figure out for herself whether she wanted him romantically and hope she wasn't wrong, or she had to wait for him to stop wanting her so he'd come back and she could figure out if she wanted him, which would then start her own period of unrequited desire. Or a disaster needed to occur that would require Will's expertise to resolve.

As tempting as it was to text Andre and see what he would suggest for creating a disaster, she stopped herself. Creating a problem bad enough that Will needed to come back to fix it would probably be a bad start to the relationship.

Not that there necessarily would be a relationship.

She wished Will was here.

 _How long do you need to be in California?_ Zoey texted, and sent it before she could second-guess herself.

Will didn't reply. After another couple hours of staring at the canopy, Zoey managed to get up and go looking for Andre or Echo. She knew she should probably eat, but her stomach felt like it was in knots.

At first when she saw Echo walking towards her in the hallway, in one of her tailored pantsuits, Zoey thought she'd found Echo. It was only when Echo halted that Zoey realized that while she had been wandering aimlessly around the hallways, Echo hadn't. Echo had found Zoey.

"There's nothing he has to do in California," Echo said as soon as their eyes met. "If you don't force him to talk about it, he's going to keep avoiding you even after he says he's finished avoiding you."

Zoey stared at her for a few moments, trying to comprehend both the new facts and that Echo knew exactly what Zoey had been about to ask and why. "He told you?"

"I suspected it. And I assume you demanded a truthful explanation from him as to why he wanted to test new weapons during your date. Now he's on an unnecessary plane to California, and you stayed in bed most of the day. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Echo paused in thought. "Or I misread everything and he really was trying to ruin your life. That would have about the same results."

Despite her overarching feeling of illness, Zoey snorted at that. "It was the first one."

Echo said, "Oh good, I'd be disconcerted if it was the second."

"How do you know he'll keep avoiding me?"

"Because that's how he deals with stuff like this. He doesn't need to be there, I could rebook his flight for tomorrow morning."

"Won't there be a change fee?"

Echo shrugged. "Yes."

Zoey considered it for a few moments. If she didn't want Will romantically, there was no reason to force him home early other than just to help her make her decision. If she did… she might as well establish now that he wasn't going to be able to avoid this forever.

Hell if she knew. "Do it."

A trace of a smile appeared on Echo's lips. She lifted her phone to her ear and strode past Zoey, and as her voice trailed into the distance, Zoey could barely hear her rescheduling the flight.

Zoey smiled and began walking in the direction of the kitchen. Will would be back soon.

* * *

She was eating one of her favorite sandwiches when Echo walked through the door of the kitchen, her shoulders slumped with exhaustion. She grabbed a stool and sat down across from Zoey. "Do you want the bad news before or after you finish the sandwich?"

She should've known. Zoey set the sandwich, of which she'd been about to take a big, juicy bite, back down on the plate. "You asking that is already bad news."

"Did you tell him you were gonna try to get him back?"

"No."

Echo said, "Yes, you did. Somehow."

"I didn't."

"Well, he might've called in a couple favors, but the short of it is that somehow in the last few hours, he's rearranged things so that if he stays in California for another month, Livingston Enterprises will acquire about ten billion dollars in assets."

Zoey frowned and stared at her sandwich. Okay, so maybe it would be a bit immature to give up that much money because she wanted to have a face-to-face convo with Will. But it wasn't like Livingston Enterprises was hard up.

Echo continued, "But even Will can't call favors to get billions of dollars out of nowhere. He made a deal."

Zoey groaned.

"If Will stays and keeps all of his recently scheduled meetings, everything works out. If he doesn't, we'll lose all that, another billion dollars, the tech startup he went over there for, and the good will of the mafia family that rules crime in most of California, thereby putting a price on any of our heads next time we enter the state."

" _In five hours?"_ It had to have been her text asking when he could come back. But how would he manage to cut out such an awful deal that fast?

"This is how our enemies normally feel. Having Will on our payroll is nice."

Zoey sighed and jabbed at her food angrily. She didn't feel so hungry anymore. "So? Now what?"

Echo smiled tightly. "You'll have to see him in a month."

"What- No. This is your job, you can-"

"I called our lawyers, I called Will, and I called the mafia." Echo shrugged. "Sure, there's probably some sort of way out, but it's not one I can use."

"But-"

Echo stood and pushed her stool in. "I'll keep trying. I'll have Budd make some calls, see if he can outmaneuver Will." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Zoey. Whatever you said, you shouldn't have warned him until I could set up roadblocks."

"I didn't warn him."

"You didn't warn him expressly, perhaps." Echo shook her head and made for the door. "I'll let you know when I have more information."

For a few minutes after Echo left, Zoey just sat and glared at her sandwich. Goddammit, when she asked when he'd be back, she hadn't meant that she would try to get him back. She hadn't even known she was going to ask Echo to bring him back at the time. And somehow he'd talked to the mafia since then?

Zoey pulled her phone out of her pocket and swiped to Will's contact. _When I approved the reconstruction plan, I didn't say you could make deals with the mafia._

His text came only a few minutes later. The bastard had probably been expecting her. _My contract allows me to deviate from plans when in the interest of Livingston Enterprises. The deal is quite lucrative._

For some reason, Zoey felt like crying. She wished the feeling would go away. _Maybe I'll make a disaster so you'll have to come back._

 _Didn't Echo tell you? Andre is on a plane to China now. So good luck with that._

Zoey glared at her phone and dialed his number. The phone rang out, even though it was almost certainly in his hand. But then, she'd rather expected that.

She started to type _I hate you_ but then realized that his expectation of that was probably the whole cause of this mess. And she wanted him to come back.

 _I miss you_ , she typed, and pressed send before she could second guess it.

Will didn't reply.

* * *

Zoey spent the next few days trying very hard not to text Will, lest she say something else letting him know they were still trying to get him back. She read some of the papers on their new acquisitions Will had asked her to read over a couple weeks ago, which only succeeded in boring her mind to think of Will constantly. Thankfully the architectural plans for the remodelling of Livingston Tower came in then, and Zoey could legitimately focus looking at those and marking all the additional changes she wanted to make.

She didn't hear anything more about the situation with Will until Budd came by the office she was working in three days after she'd spoken with Echo. "Say, Zoey," he said, "Exactly what's our budget on operation 'Force-Will-Home'?"

Zoey started at him for a few moments, then shrugged. As much as Will would probably have scolded her for thinking with her heart instead of business sense, she wanted him back to scold her. "Whatever," she said. "Just preferably less than ten billion dollars."

Budd grinned and tipped his hat. "That should be doable." He dipped out the door, and Zoey stared blankly after him.

She really ought to be thinking with her head more. The amounts of money Echo and Budd were tossing around, trying to get a deal with the goddamn mafia just to get Will home a bit earlier… it was ridiculous that Zoey was actually requesting they play with her fortune that way. And yet she was.

It wasn't like Will had never been gone before. He'd been away for weeks at a time, so it wasn't like she was having some weird separation anxiety. But this time… it felt different, knowing he was away because he wanted her too much. And meanwhile, her whole lethargy ever since he'd left for California was for the same reason: she wanted him back home too much.

Zoey's finger traced one of the lines on the design plans in front of her. They both wanted each other too much. Wasn't that the most ridiculous way to feel heartbreak?

She froze a moment later. Heartbreak. She felt heartbroken. For Will.

She guessed that answered her question on whether she returned his feelings or not.

* * *

The ball pit seemed less jovial when one was sad and confused, Zoey reflected two days later. She laid on top of the balls in the ball pit with her arms and legs spread out like she was making a snow angel. Maybe she should make a room with artificial snow. That would sure be something Arthur Livingston would've approved of.

When Echo stepped through the door, Zoey tried to straighten up and ended up falling through the balls. For a moment she stayed there, underneath all the colorful shapes, then finally gathered her energy to push back up and hear what Echo had to say. To Echo's credit, she only had a hint of a smile on her face by the time Zoey reemerged.

Echo said, "If we commit to a ten year contract of doing business with the mafia, we can get Will home in two days with only losing the tech company."

Zoey's face split into a grin, but she tried to contain herself. After all, if she made a stupid business decision, Will wouldn't probably be in the right state for a happy reunion. "Is a ten year contract with the mafia bad?"

Echo said, "Maybe if you're a church. We have contracts with three other mafias across the United States though, so I wouldn't be too concerned. It'll be profitable."

Zoey frowned. "Since when have we been dealing with mafias?"

"Since before you came. You might want to read the reports I give you every once in awhile."

Maybe she should. But there were always just so many more enjoyable things Zoey could do than read reports that the Suits already knew by heart.

Yet somehow, Zoey just couldn't bring herself to care about dealing with mafias right now. "Sure," she said. "Make the deal. See if you can get him back tomorrow."

A small smile slid over Echo's features. "Of course," she said, and exited the ball pit room.

Zoey continued laying in the balls until she got a text from Echo. _His flight is booked for tomorrow morning,_ it said.

Zoey tried to do a little flip in the balls. She somehow ended up kneeing herself in the stomach, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

She was going to see Will tomorrow.

* * *

An hour later, Zoey got a text from Will. _I would rather stay here for the full month._

Zoey smiled. Ruining Will's plans was always so much fun. _Too bad. Will you come meet with me after you arrive or do I need to wait at the airstrip myself?_

Five minutes later, he still hadn't replied. So Zoey texted him again. _Meet me in the last room I saw you. I like the chair._

Will didn't reply to that either, which Zoey took as agreement. Besides, it wasn't like he could run away. He worked for her.

Zoey was already waiting in place when Will's flight landed, never mind that he wouldn't be there immediately. She sat in her red throne-chair at the head of table, stroking Stench Machine in her arms. Part of her wanted to call a photographer to come in; she imagined she looked quite stately. All she needed was a crown.

Will stepped into the room, dressed in one of his lighter sand-colored suits with a light blue tie. More color than usual. Zoey liked those suits, he looked less robotic in them. His eyebrow raised a fraction as he looked at her.

Will said, "I told you I would reassign myself. To spare both of us discomfort."

Zoey said, "Yeah, and I realized causing you discomfort is basically my job. Come over here."

Will eyed her, somewhat apprehensively. "I'd rather not."

"Okay, you stay right there then." Zoey stood and set Stench Machine down on the table. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was just a test, she just was confirming what she already thought she'd figured out. Then she took the far-too-many steps forward to Will, his eyes widening with every step she took, and lifted one hand to the back of his head. His eyes were almost comically wide now, and his mouth gaped open just slightly in surprise. Zoey tugged his head down and pressed her lips to his.

There weren't fireworks, the world didn't stop spinning, but a profound feeling of rightness raced through her. Will gasped into her mouth, probably more out of surprise than anything else, but still kissed her back, even if it was far less passionate than Zoey was certain he was capable of. She slid her tongue inside his mouth and Will finally began to really respond, answering her probing with his own tongue and sliding his arm around her back.

They kissed for a few minutes, exploring each other's mouths and wringing small little gasps and moans from each other. Will was the first to pull back, his expression quickly growing guarded. "Zoey, I-"

"Shhh." Zoey shook her head. "I made my decision already. That was the last test."

"Of?"

"You. So, given we're basically dating now, you're like, my boyfriend right? Cause that sounds weird with you, but you've got to be something."

Will's expression was a bit petrified and he kept blinking rapidly. "We're dating now?"

"Duh, you like me romantically, I think you're pretty great, we had a great make-out sesh just now… not dating seems stupid."

"All right." Will seemed to be slowly putting himself back together. Zoey couldn't help but feel proud. She must've been a better kisser than she'd thought. "Well then. Dating introduces a variety of new issues that must be discussed and considered-"

Zoey groaned. "Oh no, we are not gonna treat this like-"

"You already introduced the issue of terminology, which is partially dependent on the degree-"

"Are you _trying_ to make me hate you again?"

"No, but terminology depends on the degree we keep our relationship private."

"You are not going to be my secret boyfriend, you can forget that right now."

"Indiscretion seems inadvisable, given the amount of time we spend featured-"

"I give so few shits about bad publicity."

"If our relationship is primarily unknown, the issue of terminology is less important-"

"Goddamnit Will-"

"We will also need to consider the separate issues of professionality and sexual intimacy, as well as nepotism and-"

"Stop. Just stop already."

To Zoey's relief, Will did indeed stop talking.

Zoey said, "You're not going to convince me not to try to date you by prattling on about this stuff, you're just going to remind me that I really need to force you to go to therapy."

Will said, "These are all issues we will need to address if we enter a relationship. I'm ensuring you are aware of all of them. We cannot possibly separate a personal relationship from our working relationship." He placed his hand on one of the chairs and leaned casually on it.

"There's no need. Look, you're already basically running my company, and everyone in Tabula Rasa is terrified of you. The ones who aren't already know that kidnapping me is a good way to get at you, since I'm your boss, and that kidnapping you is a good way to get at me, since we need you. So. No need to worry about endangering each other if everyone knows we're a thing. Okay, nepotism. You're already at the top of my company, I can't give you anything else with favoritism. Done. Now, with those handled, terminology is down to feelings about which words you like. Issue talk over."

Will stared at her through the entire speech with a strange look of engagement. "That made a surprising amount of sense, even if you did ignore half of the related factors to be taken into account."

"Wow, so glad you had high expectations."

Will said, "Normally I have to fill in the gaping holes in your logic."

"Wow," Zoey said again. "But seriously, can we deal with anything else later? Like, we don't have any awful reasons why us dating is doomed. I thought about it all yesterday."

Will cocked an eyebrow and said dryly, "And we should always trust one day's worth of consideration over several months of consideration."

"We haven't had several months of consideration."

Will tilted his head, his expression going blank again. "I have."

Zoey sighed. She didn't really know how long Will had been feeling this, but it was true that she'd been thinking about it for only a day, even if she wasn't quite sure she hadn't already felt something for him before that. She wasn't really sure about any of this. "Okay, but can we have a few minutes of romance before we plunge back into arguing?"

" _This isn't going to work,_ Zoey. I've thought about it extensively, that was why I didn't tell you-"

"You didn't tell me because you didn't think I'd like you too. Don't lie."

" _Among other reasons_. Even ignoring all of the serious issues regarding Livingston Enterprises, and the fate of the company when we break up-"

Zoey said, "Wow, so much faith."

Will gave her an annoyed look. "We constantly disagree, Zoey, there's no way we wouldn't break up."

"Well, having that attitude won't help any. And makeup sex is pretty great."

Will's jaw clenched.

Zoey said, "Look, how about we just try it, okay? And if we can't get along, we'll break up, and it'll be chill and you can go off to California or whatever just like you were trying to do now. And if it works, we'll figure out all the other issues."

There were a few moments in which Will just stared intensely at her, until at last he nodded his head just slightly. "We'll reevaluate after a month."

Geez, you would've thought _she_ was the one who'd confessed to having feelings only after trying to kill another love interest. But it wasn't like she hadn't expected Will to be, well, Will.

Will said, "We'll still need to discuss how private-"

"Later. Just shut up and kiss me so I can remember why I just decided to date you." She gave him her best come-hither look, and was gratified when he miraculously took the necessary step forward to kiss her. He must have already wanted to, otherwise there would be no way she would've convinced him with just that.

She had no doubts that this initial burst of joy would fade, and all sorts of problems would assault her and Will's relationship, and most of them would probably be their own fault. But after all, Will had fallen for her, and had grudgingly accepted dating her, so he had to have some sort of plan to make this work. He was too obsessed with contingencies not to.

They'd figure it out.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought!**


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